Time remains the #1 excuse for not getting exercise done. How hard is it really to own just a few dumbbells and get in a quick workout like this?

The first thing in the morning is the best time to do it. You’ll start your day off feeling great just because all day long you will know you did something important for improving your health.

Here is a quick 5 exercise circuit dumbbell workout for you.

If you are finding these workouts:

1) Too challenging?

2) Too easy?

3) You like some of them but you have an injury that prevents you from doing part of the exercises?

Click here to find out how you can have your own

custom designed workouts!

Quick Dumbbell Workout: Do anywhere from 8-12 repetitions of each exercise without resting, and repeat 3-4 rounds.

DB Stationary lunges, both sides

DB Reverse fly

DB Squat and press

DB push-ups (add renegade rows for more challenge!)

DB Russian twists

Dumbbell Stationary Lunge, do 8-12 reps each side

Dumbbell Reverse fly-- keep your back straight, abs tucked in tight!

dumbbell squat and press

Dumbbell push-ups--(you can add renegade rows between each push-up repetition for more challenge)

If you can't do this with your legs up, put your heels on the floor with your knees bent. You can use a single dumbbell in place of the medicine ball. Touch the dumbbell down on the floor each time.

This of course is great if you are traveling for work, don’t want to join or go to a gym, or you are just plain short on time.

Did you know I can custom design a 4-week program for you personally that is half the price of a single personal training session?

Of course there is nothing like having a trainer right there with you… but when I did a survey of why people don’t hire a personal trainer everyone I asked said it was because of the COST!

So… I took that feedback as how can I make having access to a personal trainer affordable and still give you personal attention?

Honestly… Money will be your last excuse for not doing this: On-line Personal Training!

Here is my “Killer Leg Workout”.  It is a 5-exercise circuit. If you can, do the circuit two times resting two minutes in between…

Just in case that isn’t killer enough… try this Leg Matrix I learned taking a workshop a while back with strength conditioning coach Juan Carlos Santana… Whew!

24 Body-weight squats
24 alternating (12 each side) body-weight lunge
24 alternating jump lunges (12 each side)
24 jump squats

1. Lateral Lunges

Do 8 reps each side

2. Do 8 reps of "Y" squats

3. Single-Legged Get-ups--no hands! Do 8 reps each side.

4. Bulgarian Split Squats-- Do 8 reps each side.

5. Supine Hip Extension--do 8 reps each side

Twenty minutes of interval training feels much harder than a slow one hour walk on your treadmill while watching TV for sure.

With interval training you will probably breath harder, sweat more, and need to turn off the TV and focus, but worth the results if you are trying to burn fat!

What’s more, is you don’t need cardio machines to do cardio!

If you are short on time, can’t make it to the gym, have no equipment at home but want a quick effective workout…

…Below is a quick body-weight workout that will get your heart pumping and your fat burning! By the way these exercises came right out of my Women’s In-Home Workout e-Book that you see on the right.

Strength training workouts that use supersets which combine non-competing muscle groups back to back with no rest period in between will help sculpt your body and get you more results in less time… better than taking long walks for sure.

If you want me to personally design 4-week custom programs based on your own equipment (or lack of it), your specific physical needs, and schedule, just go to this link:
http://bestbodymakeover.com/virtual/
Choose the monthly or yearly option… and then the custom program!

By the way, don’t forget to register for the teleseminar this Thursday where I will be interviewed about how to achieve your fitness goals by Health and Wellness Coach, Danielle Zanzarov:
http://www.4healthinc.com/HealthWellnessinNoTimeTeleseminarSeries.aspx

Quick Workout you can do with no equipment or gym necessary!
1) 30 seconds of body weight squats immediately followed by 30 seconds of push-ups, rest 60 seconds and repeat 2 times.

2) 30 seconds of alternating forward touchdown lunges immediately followed by 30 seconds of mountain climbers, rest 60 seconds and repeat 2 times.

3) Finish with plank and side plank (20-second plank + 10-second side plank alternating sides, up to 8 rounds)

Together as a team, you can share an amazing journey towards a better, stronger and healthier relationship… like never before.

• Do you approach weight loss as individuals or work against each other?
• Do you sabotage each other with poor eating choices?
• Do you have equal exercise time in your day-to-day lives, or do you hold resentment for the time that only one of you gets to go to the gym?

If this is you, discover how when you support one another, your chances of success are far greater. You can enjoy the many physical benefits that working out and eating healthy together can offer.

When you work together as a team toward a common goal, you will find there will be a lot more benefits than weight loss alone:

• Grow emotionally as a couple as you reinforce good feelings in your relationship by sharing your experience.
• Build trust and improve communication.
• Gain a greater respect for each other .
• Have a deeper appreciation for each other’s needs.
• Face challenges and overcome obstacles together better.
• Keep each other accountable.
• Have a greater sexual attraction for each other.

You really CAN get back your sexy body you desire and at the same strengthen your relationship. As a team you can work together on a common goal. This will become an exciting journey for both of you.

• Having a workout partner is often the most critical link to your adherence to exercise. When someone is counting on you to workout, you have to be accountable to the plan.

• Working towards a common goal will give you much to talk about and will establish a new connection with each other.

• You will be less likely to cheat on your nutrition plan when someone else is feeling a little stronger than you are at a weak moment.

• You will increase your energy as you begin even to make small changes towards a healthy lifestyle. This will lead to more productivity in other aspects of your life. With both of you having unstoppable energy, it will be a win-win!

• Becoming more physical with each other will establish deeper intimacy and you will have a better self-esteem because of it. As you become more fit and lean, you will FEEL much more attractive when you begin to tone up and fit into smaller sizes. When you feel that good about yourself you will want to share your feelings with your loved one.

• If you have children at home you will become a great role model not only for each other… but for them. Whatever age your children are, the best gift you could ever give them is instilling the value of a healthy lifestyle.

So how can you go about doing all this?

As a special VALENTINE gift to you, from now until February 15th, my coaching program is two for the price of one!

If you are willing to work together as a team… then I would like to be a part of your SUCCESS TEAM too!

4- Not having an action plan when it comes to your exercise - Without knowing what specific steps you need to take, or simply showing up at the gym mindlessly, your ability to change your body or stay consistent with your exercise will be compromised.

If you are doing the same routine, same weights, cardio, even if it seems like you are working hard… you are probably getting the same results. This is not a plateau, but this may be your feedback that you need to change what you do in order to improve or get to the next level.

Changing it up will also keep you inspired and motivated… and ultimately, change you.

Don’t be sure you know how, that is what a personal trainer or coach will do for you, and save you a lot of time and trouble in the long run. Be willing to pay for it, you are well worth it. Avoid the quick fixes.

5- Having an exercise plan that is not aligned with your values - If your goal is to go to the gym regularly but your time there conflicts with job, family, etc., then a gym membership might not be money well spent.

Your desire to exercise needs to be strong and compelling for you to do it. This does not mean if you have too many responsibilities that you can’t workout. On the contrary, without your health, your other responsibilities will be a moot point. Besides, you know as well as I do that some of the busiest people find time to work out!

If you hate working out at a gym, chances are you will get bored and drop out. Weight training and cardio machines are not the end all and be-all. Yes they are efficient and get the job done, but if it is not aligned with your lifestyle or you simply hate it, you will probably quit in the end.

I just had a conversation with someone today who was getting “advice” from a marathon runner. He was trying to tell her she needed to run in order to lose fat. Of course running might indeed make her lose fat but she told me she hated to run, especially outside.

She asked me if she could get the same benefit from dancing. Well, I asked her… have you ever looked at some of the bodies of professional dancers? She immediately saw possibilities where before she only saw limitations.

So what could you do that fits in your lifestyle, burns a lot of calories and you can still have fun?

1- Not getting stronger and increasing muscle mass. If your goal is to lose fat, increasing your muscle mass will increase your metabolism (burn more calories/fat throughout the day). You’ll be stronger, toned, leaner and get rid of cellulite. Establish a consistent routine, ideally 3 times a week.
A) Lift heavier than you did the last time, even if it is for one repetition, and build on that.
B) Slow down. Unless you are doing power-lifting moves or kettlebell swings (both are great), you should not be using momentum.
C) Change up the workout program, the amount of repetitions, the rest periods between sets, the lifting tempo, or the amount of sets you do. Changing the demand on your muscles keeps them from adapting to the same routine.

2- Spending too much time doing ab exercises in hopes of losing belly fat. Your abs may be strong and developed even if you can’t see definition because a layer of belly fat is covering them up. Seeing that amazing coveted 6-pack, takes amazing work. Most of the fat around your belly is a result of your nutrition. Your exercise to reduce belly fat should include interval cardio training and super-sets using high intensity, full body combinations  like squats, pulling and pushing exercises.

3- Thinking that you have to spend a long time doing cardio -Long slow cardio is not the way to burn fat, in fact, it might help you store fat, slow your metabolism, and burn more muscle, not fat.

Let’s suppose you start out at 20 minutes walking on the treadmill. Next you increase it to 30 minutes and so on… until you are walking an hour or more, but you can’t understand why nothing has changed in all that time. Your body has efficiently learned to adapt to the demand you are placing on it… so now it doesn’t need to burn as many calories in order to walk longer. In fact, it becomes very efficient at storing fat and burning off muscle!

Ever watched someone reading a book or talking on the cell phone while on cardio equipment… sometimes for over an hour? Who will burn more calories? The steady walker or the person who is totally focused, breathing hard, sweating and giving it their all-out, either with more resistance or speed?

Just like increasing the weight load with strength training, when it comes to cardio, you need to increase both intensity (how hard) and duration (how long)… and vary the type of exercise. Check out this earlier post on how to do a fat-blasting cardio workout.

If you need help designing a program for your workouts, I can build a 4-week program for you when you sign up for the custom program or you can get a copy of my “Women’s In Home Workout!” E-book that you to the right of this page. These are extremely affordable alternatives to personal training. With the custom program you’ll have access to me personally, and with the self-serve program, you can get effective workouts daily, that are designed based on the information you enter in.

1- Keep the momentum – you may miss a workout here and there, or eat junk food in a moment of stress, but don’t let that be a reason to quit… get back in the game as soon as you can.

2- Use positive self-talk – we all have an inner voice that moves us forward towards our goals… or keeps us from achieving them. What does YOUR inner voice say?

3- Have written and clearly defined goals that are measurable and time bound – do not leave this to chance. Be specific about what you want, when you want it and an action plan of how you are going to achieve it.

4- Don’t reinvent the wheel – If something is already proven, backed by reliable scientific evidence, why wouldn’t you want to follow it exactly as it is?

5- Be willing to pay for it – This is not just about the money. It could cost you time, hard work, going out of your comfort zone, and this is where people often give up or use these “obstacles” as excuses. You cannot put a price on your health… it makes everything in your life run smoothly.

6- Run your own race, wear blinders if you have to - Do not let the “nay-sayers” and “sabotagers” get in your way. Stay focused and surround yourself with people who support you and your goal.

7- Make sure you want it bad enough – Is this goal worthy of your best efforts? Have a strong and powerful reason for wanting to achieve your goal.

8- Make sure it is consistent with your values - will this affect your responsibilities? Is it consistent with the way you see yourself?

9- Always buy the best equipment, don’t scrimp – you will end up saving a lot of time and money in the long run if you just do it right to the best of your ability in the first place.

10- Have a large goal in mind but chunk it down into smaller goals. When your goals are achievable you will feel a sense of accomplishment. Set progressively higher goals to keep the momentum.

It is hard to believe that we are not only closing another year,
but a decade too!

For the first blog post of 2010, I would like to give you some
helpful tips to “master” the art of making New Year’s
Resolutions to create the outcomes you want.

First, consider a few questions:

1- Is your nutrition healthier than it was 10 years ago… or
even one year ago?

2- Have you been doing the same exercise routine year after
year but your body has shown no improvement?

3- Were you better off ten years ago in terms of your lifestyle?

Most people make resolutions. That is only the beginning.
Resolutions are the words you speak. They sound like great
ideas but they don’t really mean anything unless they are
accompanied with a plan of action.

Talk without action is only dreaming about a possibility…
and that’s a good start, because all actions begin with a
thought or a desire. When you make a commitment… and
make the appointment that is written in your schedule and
prioritized, guess what… you get it done, no kidding.

I am re-launching my New Year’s Resolution program from
last year at the same price with more added bonuses…
Because guess what, you will get it done, no kidding and
here’s why… it’s those tips I was going to tell you about…

http://bestbodymakeover.com/newyear/

1. Know what worked. It is important to identify all the
things that have worked well for you in the past. Commit
to them… do them consistently and more often.

2. Pay attention to what you learned. Whether you
reach your desired outcome or not, that knowledge is the
feedback that will help you advance. Then, you can speed
up your results each time around and not repeat the same
mistakes over and over again.

3. Have a plan in advance before you set your goal
rather than make it up as you go along. Without a plan you
will waste time. Setting a goal is just the start, achieving
your goal requires a consistent plan of action for both
training and nutrition.

4. Know what it will cost. Every goal has a cost… and it’s
not just about money. It can cost you time, it could cost
you a relationship, and it can cost you your health if you don’t
do it… Most of the costs lie outside your comfort zone. This
is probably what gets most people into trouble.

People don’t realistically think about the cost of what it will
take to achieve their goals. They are unwilling to pay the
price and quit at the first obstacle.

5. You are worth it, pay the price! That’s right… This may
be tough love but if it’s a goal you want, you need to suck it
up! This is your life and quite frankly you cannot put a price
on your health.

If you cannot honestly say you have improved your nutrition
or exercise habits over the past year or decade; then you can
make the next weeks, months, even decade ahead be different
that the last 10 by making a decision and a commitment to
change no matter what price.

Find out more about New Year’s resolutions and how you can
keep yours by clicking on this link:

http://bestbodymakeover.com/newyear/

You will discover everything you need to succeed: nutrition,
cardio training, strength training, and your motivation to do it
all. You will stay focused on the resolutions you make.

I will be customizing this program for you with personal
one-on-one attention. Nobody else gives you this kind of
support.

There is one catch… because it is important that I give you top
quality attention, it is very time intensive for me, I have to limit
this to 12 people.

As an added incentive to make 2010 a significant year of change
for you, grab this offer before January 6th, and save big time
for a limited time.

http://bestbodymakeover.com/newyear/

All the best in 2010!
Lauren

Everybody wants the magic bullet. Our culture expects quick fixes. Sadly, when quick changes happen, they don’t last long term. See the diets, amazing ab machines, magic pills or fat-burners for what they are. Save your money and time on all these quick-fix products… they only create false hopes.

You probably already know what you need to do yet… you’re not doing it! Here is the problem with thinking you know everything. If you were told you should drink more water or eat more vegetables, your first response might be… “I know that.”

You instantly shut down your brain when you have heard something before, especially when it involves a behavior change and leaving your comfort zone.

Without being receptive to the learning, a behavioral change will not happen. Change requires not being you. Tell yourself: “If I have to change, I need to stop being me.” You are capable of not being you, but you need to learn how… in consistent small doses over time. That’s how habits change, and ultimately results occur.

The stories you don’t always hear or want to hear about the people who create long-term success, is they got out of their comfort zone, stayed focused, and changed. When they had a setback, they did not stay immobilized, they got up and got back on track.

What keeps these people so driven and how can you create that “do whatever it takes mindset”?

It is important to see the big picture of where you want to be, but your focus should be on what you can do now to get to the next step.

You can see and feel significant change and results in 12 weeks. Those results will fuel wanting more success. This is how an unstoppable mindset and lasting habits are created. When that happens, true learning takes place.

Ask yourself, “What do I already ‘know’ about my health that I am not changing?”